


In Which Draco Malfoy Finds His Marbles

by Snappy_Snippets



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Brooding Draco, Draco needs cheering up, Explicit Language, Gen, Harry has a saviour complex, Hogwarts Era, Hogwarts Sixth Year, Room of Requirement, Stalker Harry, playing around with a Drarry cliche, pre-slash maybe?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-19 10:11:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4742465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snappy_Snippets/pseuds/Snappy_Snippets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco needs something which would make him <em>feel</em> again and the Room has just the idea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Which Draco Malfoy Finds His Marbles

This fucking cabinet was going to be the death of him.

Quite literally, most probably.

Draco didn't even have it in him to be angry, or sad, or anything else for that matter. He felt empty, like there was nothing in the world that could provoke any emotion in him anymore. In the old days, he would have simply gone and teased Potter, as this had always been something that was sure to give him a thrill in times of need. But now... even teasing Potter didn't sound like much fun. 

Draco sighed heavily and decided it had been quite enough bird-killing for one day. His mind was blank, there was no chance he would come up with a way to make the cabinet work today. It was time to head back out. He turned around, gaze fixed on the stone floor in front of him and walked quickly towards the exit wall. He just hoped Potter wasn't lurking around in the corridor outside. Yet again. He squinted. He really wasn't in the mood for putting on a snarky show right now. He needed to get his mind off things, to find something which would make him feel better...

Suddenly Draco collided with something. The first thing he saw were worn-out trainers.

In front of him stood Potter, an inquisitive look on his face.

'Malfoy,' Potter said.

Draco took a step back and stared. 

Really?! He only thought of Potter for one second and the Room just instantly latched onto that?! Why wouldn't this work all those times he thought of having a fucking _functioning_ Vanishing Cabinet? That, in his opinion, was the worst kind of evil.

He moved to get around Potter, but Potter moved too, blocking his path.

Draco looked around, raising his eyes somewhere towards the ceiling.

'Seriously?' he asked, resigned, spreading his arms.

Potter's gaze changed first to slightly confused, then quickly to plain accusatory.

'What are you doing here, Malfoy?'

Draco glanced at him, then turned back to the Room.

'Salazar's balls, haven't you caused me enough problems already? And now this?'

Potter looked around warily, the confused look back on his face. 

'Who are you taking to...?'

'Who am I talking to? You, quite obviously!' Draco flung up his arms, exasperated. He shifted his eyes from the Room to Potter, back to the Room, and to Potter again.

Potter was looking at him, wide-eyed and almost... concerned?

'But I'm right here,' Potter said slowly, pointing to himself.

'Yes, I know, you're here, you're everywhere... now please, enough of this already,' Draco said pleadingly.

For a long moment there was silence, broken only by Potter's shuffling feet. Then Potter took a tentative step towards him, reaching his hand out in Draco's direction.

'Malfoy... are you... are you talking to the room...?'

Draco jerked back, looking straight at Potter. He felt a slight knot building in his chest.

'Yes, how astoundingly observant of you,' he spat mockingly. 'That's right, _I'm talking to the Room_.'

Potter bit his lower lip. His arm was still stretched towards Draco. He spoke quietly and looked as if he was approaching a wild animal that could lash out at any moment.

'Erm... Malfoy... I don't think the room is sentient... You can't... talk to it. I mean, you can... but it won't talk back...'

The knot in Draco's chest was growing tighter. Suddenly he felt quite hot. 

'Well,' he hissed and looked at Potter firmly, 'you _saying_ this is just the most brilliant example of irony, now, isn't it?'

Potter dropped his arm, his brow furrowed.

'Malfoy... you have finally lost it, haven't you?' he said slowly.

The reaction of Draco's body was non-voluntary, a reflex. He felt his legs move and his arm raise and then there was a squishy kind of sound as something crashed into his fist.

Potter gasped in pain and stumbled backwards, bending over and covering his face with his hands.

Draco looked at his fist, still clenched and made a conscious effort to open it. He looked at Potter, who was still making whimpering sounds and apparently checking his hands for blood stains.

And suddenly, Draco realized that he was feeling. He was feeling the knot in his chest, slightly subdued now, but most definitely still there with the label 'anger' written all over it. He was feeling his hand and a certain excitement was radiating from his knuckles and spreading all over his body. He felt his blood rush through his veins, hot and fast. Alive.

And for the first time in a very long time, Draco smiled.

He looked up at the Room once more.

'Thank you,' he said clearly.

Potter must have recovered from the punch and was now looking at Draco as if all his earlier suspicions about Draco's mental state had been confirmed. Which only made Draco more certain that this was not the real Potter. The real Potter would have known better. He would have known that a punch was a symptom of Draco's health.

Draco smiled broadly at Potter.

Potter looked utterly perplexed, but he had straightened out and turned back to Draco again.

'Listen, Malfoy...' he started cautiously. Draco couldn't stop grinning. It was the first time he had experienced emotions in a long while and even more amazingly, one of these emotions was gratitude towards Potter. Well, not Potter really - the Room, but anyhow... Heh, add surprise to the mix. 'I don't know what's happening with you,' Potter continued slowly, 'but I'm quite certain you're in the middle of something and you're losing your marbles because of it...'

Draco grinned even wider. This was so fun.

'Losing my what...?' 

'Your mind, Malfoy,' Potter said insistently. 'You're losing your mind... Something's happening with you, I know it. Now, if only you told me what you're up to... maybe...' Potter looked at him and there was something which looked very much like concern again in his eyes. Yes, definitely not the real Potter. 'Maybe we could... maybe... I could help you.' 

Draco scoffed. He had to give it to the Room. It was doing a pretty good job projecting Potter's saviour complex.

But enough was enough. The Room was turning the conversation into something much less useful now and Draco still felt the excitement running through his veins and did not want to lose it. He went for the exit wall again and this time Potter didn't stop him. After all, he served his purpose, so it was only logical.

Draco exited the Room and turned around to face the wall where the door was quickly disappearing from view. He realized he was still smiling when suddenly an annoyed voice came from behind his back.

'What are you doing here, Malfoy?' 

Draco had previously thought it wouldn't be possible for him to grin any wider, but the tension he now felt in his cheeks proved him wrong. He swirled around to face Potter.

'Seriously...?' Draco asked, still grinning.

Potter frowned and his face acquired a familiar look of confusion. Whether it was a reaction to the question or the smile, or both, Draco didn't know. All he knew was that he was enjoying himself more and more every second.

'Are you here to help me, too...?' he drawled.

'I... erm...' Potter said and Draco cracked up. He felt pure joy explode in his chest, vanishing the remnants of the knot that had been there before. His throat hurt from the force of his laughter and he felt his knees getting soft. He reached out behind him for support and slumped against the wall, shaking. He glanced up at Potter.

Potter was looking at him, wide-eyed.

Draco felt another jolt of glee seize his chest. He fell to the floor, ending up in a half-kneeling, half-lying position and kept laughing, looking up at Potter.

Potter took a tentative step towards him, reaching his hand out in Draco's direction. 

'Malfoy... you have finally lost your marbles, haven't you?' he said slowly.

Scrambling through the onslaught of joy penetrating his mind, Draco thought that, to the contrary, whatever these _marbles_ were, he was quite sure that he had finally recovered them.


End file.
